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Miley Cyrus on Challenges of Mileys New Years Eve Party and Why Pete Davidson Was the Best Co-Host

There is something about him thats very classic and his professionalism is off the charts but theres also a danger there Cyrus says of Davidson.

Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson co-hosts

Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson co-hosts of Mileys New Years Eve Party. Says Cyrus We wrote this show over text message. Courtesy of Vijat MohindraNBC Miley Cyrus may seem like a go-with-the-flow person but when it comes to a TV special like NBCs Mileys New Years Eve Party shes all about structure. Because of COVID which prevented rehearsals and special guest appearances and prompted multiple location changes the Miami-set live show had its fair share of challenges.

Still after two difficult pandemic years Cyrus and co-host Pete Davidson wanted to provide a form of escapism for audiences through live performances by Cyrus Brandi Carlile Saweetie and Anitta among others and sketches featuring Cyrus and Davidson.

I think we represented what New Years is really about which is connecting with each other celebrating the year youve had looking forward to the year thats going to be says Cyrus of the special that drew 6 million linear viewers. That was challenging too because wed had such a hard two years and it was hard to ask people to reflect with happiness.

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Cyrus talks to THR about the challenges she faced including a wardrobe malfunction why Davidson was the perfect co-host and what she plans for the New Years Eve special that will ring in 2023.

Why did you want to do a New Years Eve special

We were doing a traditional show at a very untraditional time. The COVID surge meant that the creative flexibility had to be at an all-time high because what was most important was the show must go on. We felt that the probability of a show not happening was getting higher and higher by the day. But we had executive producer Lorne Michaels someone who is so used to keeping up in real time. I thought that the combination of music and comedy hasnt really happened on a New Years show and we merged into this variety show element where youre able to talk about the year and the year to come in a way with a lightheartedness. We had had a really heavy two years and we wanted to provide some escapism but also be responsible and realistic about the kind of show we put on and to encourage people to get together and watch. … It ended up being a night that Ill always remember as the first time that I was able to do Mileys New Years Eve Party.

At what point did you decide Pete Davidson should be your co-host

One thing about New Years is its very romantic. There is the sex appeal to it and in your dream world you have the ultimate gentleman as a date. We thought that Pete was ideal for that role. There is something about him thats very classic and his professionalism is off the charts but theres also a danger there. And thats something that we really wanted for New Years because there always should be that energy of not knowing exactly whats going to happen. You dont want it to be a night about counting — that was something that me and Lorne thought was really important. We realized that a lot of shows focus on the 30 seconds before and after midnight but they dont think so much about the two hours bookending that moment. We knew that Pete would bring something really unique because Ive never watched a New Years show that had sketches and comedy in a very improvised way that Pete can do.

How much time did you have to prep for the opening act

We ended up not even having a full dress rehearsal. We rehearsed it that day and we wrote this show over text message. There were a lot of reasons why we all couldnt be sitting around a big writers table like we do at SNL so it was awesome that we were able to work this all out via FaceTime or text and sending pictures and songs back and forth. I sent him the Will Smith song Miami and said Would you want to open the show with this He had a rewrite within the next day.

 

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